I am sure everyone will be as relieved as we are when we can officially cast our vote for the Australian Federal Election on Saturday, 21st May 2022. It is a time when it is hard to remain focused on critical issues when there is so much distraction.

Stanford Brown had written a great May Market Report with fantastic details on the history of the Federal Government, including when each party was in power, the economic outcome, and its relationship with the significant events occurring at that time. Here is a link to the May Market Report, which includes the history of Government and its effect on the economy.

Ian Cragg, our International Currency Specialist from Send Payments has also shared the currency outlook for the Australian Dollar. 

The US Dollar has been the main beneficiary of safe-haven flows this week as geopolitical tensions in Europe continue to escalate. The ongoing war in Ukraine and the resurgence of COVID-19 cases in China have made investors jittery, prompting them to seek refuge in the greenback. 

This has put sustained downward pressure on riskier currencies like the Australian Dollar, which is highly leveraged to the Chinese economy. The UK Pound has also come under pressure as Brexit negotiations hit another snag. With no end in sight to these tensions, the safe haven flows are expected to continue next week, putting further downward pressure on riskier currencies.

Chris Gray shared a great blog with us about the importance of purchasing a Blue-Chip Property.

People think they can somehow outsmart the market, interest rates, and even hotspots, but there's only one course of action if you are looking for a long-term investment.

Buy property whenever you have the money to buy.

Here are some things I say over and over again to clients:

"Blue-chip properties don't go down. They slow down."

and

"it's not timing the market. It's time in the market".

- Chris Gray. The Expatriate Property Portfolio Specialist

Corelogic Pain and Gain Report for the December Quarter written by Eliza Owens

Key findings for Pain & Gain, Dec Quarter 2021

• The December quarter Pain & Gain Report analysed 133,000 dwelling resales

• Of those, 94.8% recorded a nominal profit-making gain from the previous purchase price

• The median nominal gain made on resales nationally was $319,000, while median losses were at -$34,000

• Sydney had the highest median dollar value gain from profit making resales across the capital cities, at $536,500.

• Hobart was the capital city with the highest incidence of profit-making sales in the quarter at 98.3% followed closely by Canberra (98.2%).

• Nationally the median hold period for profit-making resales was 9.2 years

• Properties held for more than 30 years had the highest total median return of $770,000

• Properties held for two years or less had the highest nominal gain per year of $150,500

• House resales continued to have a higher chance of nominal gain (96.2%) than units (88.6%)

• Regional Australia had a higher rate of profit than Australia’s combined capitals at 94.0% versus 93.7% respectively

• The coastal regions with the highest proportion of profitability were Geelong in Victoria and the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, which each saw 99.5% of resales achieve nominal gain.

  CoreLogic Report - Eliza Owens

Bradley Beer from BMT Taxation, Depreciation and Quantity Surveyors wrote a great blog on Depreciation of Investment Properties and why a site inspection is required.

What is a quantity surveyor?

A quantity surveyor is a professional who specialises in estimating the value of construction costs and other assets. Quantity surveyors are different from your usual tax accountant, they hold a different professional license to practice from your tax return accountant. Quantity surveyors may get involved at various stages: prior to construction, during construction and post-construction. They use our skills to determine the cost of building works and fit-out, whether we’re looking at a residential property or any of the structures and assets within the vast spectrum of commercial properties.

BMT Tax Depreciation would like to help you - Boost your cash flow

Join BMT Tax Depreciation CEO Bradley Beer and THE EXPATRIATE Tax Depreciation Specialist to discover the depreciation you could claim on your residential investment property. BMT Tax Depreciation is also hosting a webinar for Residential and Commercial Properties on the following dates;

Residential Properties

• Tuesday 24 May 2:00 - 2:45pm AEST

• Thursday 26 May 12:30 - 1:15pm AEST

Commercial Properties

• Tuesday 24 May 12:00 - 12:45pm AEST

• Thursday 26 May 2:30 - 3:15pm AEST

Stay tuned to more updates on relocation to Australia, Property, Finance, and Currency and join our mailing list to be sent an email whenever THE EXPATRIATE posts an information blog.

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